Spirits, it's been so damn long. Agni, he shouldn't even be alive. Yet, here he is. Battered, bruised, burnt, tattered, torn, scarred, traumatized, tortured, and barely breathing- but alive. At sometimes had he wanted to capitulate to the sheer exhaustion, suffering, and helplessness that overtook him, but that wasn't encoded in Zuko's DNA. He was wired a fighter: a damn stubborn one at that. But, the fire lord's greatest motivation was his family. The bright, blue, loving gaze of his wife guided him along the fight, and the giggle of his beautiful, four-year-old, baby girl whispered in his ear to get up each time he fell down. It had been five Agni forsaken years he was held hostage and tortured by those Ozai loyalists. Half of a decade of his life, fed to them. Why they didn't just kill him, he'd never know. However, he was gracious for it nonetheless. He still was in awe he'd managed to escape after so long, finally- finally he'd broken free. He hadn't been the one to succumb, as they falsely believed, it was they who'd surrendered: surrendered on Zuko's will to survive.
He overlooked the glorious sight of the palace, shocked he still knew the route after all those years. His eyes filled to the brim with tears, and he resentfully thought that this is the feeling that should've bestowed him when he came home from exile. But, his teenage, banished years were meaningless now, as were now his years of captivity, he tried to reason with himself. Zuko took a deep breath, and began to race as fast as his feeble, emaciated body would allow him. He dashed up the stairs, only to be halted by guards who after ceasing Zuko, turned white and, stumbled backwards in fear as they reached a mutual, simultaneous epiphany. They began staggering his name with dilated pupils, and flopping lips. Zuko just stifled a laugh and gently pushed them aside. The one guard choked on his words, but still managed to release them, "Sire, y-you don't understand… you might want to- everything is different now, you see-" the young guard tried to forewarn, but the anxious fire lord wanted to hear none of it. He kept limping in a dash to locate his family. He wondered if his uncle was regent for his daughter, or if they would allow Katara since she would not be allowed to reign until the age of sixteen.
Zuko totally ignored the gasps, and shouts of his name along with stunned profanities that spewed from the palace staff's lips. He was looking for two, maybe three people, and them alone. He stumbled through the long, velvet-carpeted corridors, making his way to the garden. It was a Sunday, despite everything, maybe she still reserved Sunday as a day of rest, his one day off he reserved. Zuko felt a surge of emotions flood over him as he spotted a back view of his wife from the opaque, garden window. She still wears the same gentle smile, he's sure, and he suddenly can't wait to see her beautiful face. He sees a child run by, followed by another little boy chasing her. He looks just like Katara, and Zuko wonders if the boy is his own. He knows the daughter is his, that's his Kya, all grown up, and gorgeous as her mother. He wonders if she still even thinks about her long gone father, and if the boy is his, he wonders if he's heard stories of a father he's never even met. Zuko sees Katara shift her angle a little, and spots a pink bundle in her arms- another baby. He knows for certain, that child is not his. Perhaps she, and maybe the boy as well, are Katara's niece and nephew- hence his as well. He softens at the thought of Suki and Sokka having children. For some reason, it truly warms his heart.
The years-idle fire lord finally grips thee doorknob, pulling the door open hesitantly, despite his burning anticipation. He sees Katara turn around casually, as if expecting someone else. She goes to turn back around, unnoticing, but then she double takes, and whips back to face him. Her lips mouth the word, "Zuko," and then they began to tremble. For a split second, Zuko thinks she'll drop the baby she carries, but she instead clutches her closer. Zuko mutters her name, as tears begin to spill from his face. Now he's dashing towards her, and he pulls her close into his arms, kissing her face all over. For the first time in half of a decade, Zuko holds his wife, and he's weeping, and now- she's wailing. She still cradles the infant in one arm, but she brings her hand into Zuko's hair and repeats his name in a mantra. Zuko is repeatedly mumbling her name through sobs, along with delicate I-love-yous.
"Spirits, Zuko, I- I-" Katara chokes, she's starting to go into hysterics now, and Zuko rubs her back. "Spirits-" she weeps harder, glancing at her baby through tear-stained eyes. "They told me you were dead, Zuko. Spirits, why did they tell me you were fucking dead!" Katara swore, something he'd scarcely heard her done, but he attributed it to grief caused.
"Shhhh, they thought I was. I almost was. But, I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere. Kya doesn't have to be fire lord so young anymore," he assuaged, but his false assumptions of half the reason for her tears made her break and crumble even more.
"Daddy?!" a broken, desperate, little cry is heard, and Zuko melts at the voice. It's more mature, but the same. Zuko releases his wife, and entangles his baby girl in his arms. They are both sobbing, and Zuko is kissing her all over, and assuring her of how proud he is, how deeply he loves her, and how he promises to not disappear again.
Katara watches the scene, knowing her heart should be swelling with happiness, joy, and love. And, half of it is, but the other half is composed with guilt, and fear, and regret.
"Who's that?" the young boy, no more than three-years-old inquires as he sees his sister hugging this strange man and weeping.
"Your sister's father-" Katara replies, her voice still detached in shock. Zuko turns his tear-stained face, shooting his wife a confused glare.
Her guilt is digging into her heart deeply now. She's guilty because she's betrayed the love of her life. She knew she shouldn't have gave up hope on his survival. Her gut told her he was out there. But, the facts were all assembled, the sages told her he was gone, it was so damn long, how could she not believe it. She was guilty because she loves Zuko more than the world. She was guilty because her new husband tried so hard to be enough, and worked so hard to help her, and she had come to love him too. She was mostly guilty because she knows that she'd pack up and go with Zuko in a heartbeat. But, what could she do? She technically now had two husbands. What would be right? Technically, since she never divorced Zuko, her marriage to Aang was illegitimate now. Zuko was alive. Spirits, her Zuko, the man she loved, had come back from the dead.
"Zuko, sweetheart, you must forgive me-" Katara choked, her son looking scared and bewildered now. Zuko shook his head in confusion.
"The children, Katara. Are they Sokka's…?" Zuko presumed, and that made Katara's voice hitch in her weeping as she adamantly shook her head.
"They're mine… Zuko… they're Aang's, too," she finally confessed in a murmur.
That.
That was worse than any method of torture those rebels used on him. That felt worse than it all. Katara married another man. Not just that, but his best friend. He felt like his heart had been sliced out, diced up, and burnt into ashes. He'd been replaced. There were children.
"Zuko, I'm so, so, so sorry. But, I didn't know- they- they told me you were dead, it was so long, I started to believe it! Aang was there the whole time helping me and Kya, and your uncle-" Katara sobbed through her words. "If I'd known you were alive, you know I would never have-"
"Aang… you married… Aang… you…" Zuko stumbled, falling to his knees in disbelief. He wants to go back to the torture facility and shrivel up and die.
"I'm so sorry," she wails, finally she puts her daughter in her cradle and clutches onto one of her husbands. "I love you, I love you, Zuko, please, I love you. Spirits, I missed you. I'm sorry, I'm so Agni damned sorry," she sobs. "Spirits, it killed me when they told me you were gone, for years I didn't believe it, I couldn't, I wouldn't. Zuko, I'm so happy you're alive. I thought about you every day, Zuko. I love you, I-"
"What about Aang?" he asks quietly, afraid of his own voice and words. He hardly heard Katara's relieved cries as his own thoughts screamed so loud.
"I don't know, you were my husband first, so I don't know if the marriage was valid- Poor Aang, I- I'm gonna be sick!" Katara shouted, scaring the children. Katara clutched the frills of her dress, causing Zuko to catch eye of her hand. She wasn't wearing his engagement and wedding rings- it were Aang's on her hand. She noticed his gleaming.
"I still have them. I would never lose them. They meant the world to me through this," she assured him, as he wracked his hands through his hair in anguish. He was still in shock.
"Whose wedding was better?" Zuko bitterly whispered.
"Zuko, please," Katara begged, clutching onto him as she kissed his scarred cheek repeatedly. "Zuko, I didn't do this on purpose. I wasn't replacing you. I thought you'd want me happy-"
"I always wanted nothing but that," he agreed.
"I'm just so happy, happy like you can't understand, that you are alive. What-" her voice caught on hysterics again, "Where were you? Spirits, what happened? I didn't even ask… Spirits, who took you? What did they do to you? Oh spirits, they hurt you, didn't they? You're hurt."
"Where is Aang?" Zuko asked, ignoring her. "Is my uncle in Ba Sing Se?"
"N-No, he's here. He's regent for Kya," Katara answered through tears. Kya's arms had never left Zuko's waist this whole time, and Zuko's hand never stopped caressing her shoulder. A smile appeared gently on Zuko's broken face.
"Uncle," Zuko muttered. Katara broke again, and Kya sniffled against her father, holding him tighter.
"He'll be so happy, oh Spirits," Katara sobbed, thinking of the old man. "He nearly died, Zuko. Your 'death' almost killed him. He… he tried to out himself at first, my father was here a long time after too, we tried to help him… I needed a lot of help, Spirits forgive me."
"I must see Uncle," Zuko muttered, tears still falling from his good eye. His heart ached, but he needed to relieve Uncle. As he stumbled towards the door, another opened behind him.
"Zuko, you have to rest, you need to see a doctor-" Katara insisted, but also turned to see her 'other husband' beside Iroh at the door.
Iroh immediately cupped his hand over his mouth in astonishment, and tears began riveting down his face. "My nephew."
Aang was overtaken by ambivalence. He loved Zuko like a brother, yet he knew the confusion to soon ensue.
"Zuko," he muttered. Spirits, though the avatar was glad he was safe and sound. He missed that man.
"Well, I'll be a hog-monkey's uncle."